Wednesday, March 23, 2011

*How would you pitch The Truth About Vampires to someone who has never heard of it before?

Sure! THE TRUTH ABOUT VAMPIRES is the ultimate expose investigation. All her life Seattle reporter Kristin Reed sought her breakout story. She never thought she’d find it in the crimson lair of a real life creature of the night. Kristin never believed vampires existed—until with dark brooding eyes and a decadent chocolate scent, Dmitri Dionotte called out to her….

Dmitri and his clan’s true nature was cloaked in secrecy until a warring vampire order threatened their existence. Kristin was just the woman he needed. She couldn’t resist their story…or Dmitri. Her blood pulsed hot and furious when he touched her, and with his kiss, all logic fled. But each night she spent with her vampire lover brought her closer to death and destruction. A death not even an immortal could triumph over.

*Can you tell us a little bit about the world that The Truth About Vampires is set in?

When I was creating the world setting of my new Sons of Midnight mini-series for Harlequin Nocturne, I was interested in doing something different and let my imagination run wild.

I had to think not just about how my vampires would interact with people (treating them as juice pouches to be pierced, drained and tossed vs. treating it as a symbiotic relationship), how they preferred to feed (some authors like the whole idea of either bottled blood or vampires who choose to feed off of animals instead of humans), and what their strengths and weaknesses were. I also had to think about how my vampire society functioned.

The vampires in The Truth About Vampires, and my June book The Vampire Who Loved Me believe in a kind of trinity—three circles that overlap each other—life, death and vampire. None is wholly like the other, yet vampire straddles both life and death. My civilized vampires, who retain their own free will, live in clans, with a clear-cut code of conduct, laws and consequences for stepping outside those boundaries. But there are always those on the fringes of society who don’t live by the rules and those are reviers who gather in migrating nests and have a more hive-mind mental state and can be controlled by a single leader. And then there’s the ancient gods and goddesses that come into play…but I digress.

For my vampires I chose to create a world with a more biological base. While they are stronger, and their senses are stronger than humans, because of their modified DNA, they are not all powerful beings without weaknesses. Which made me have to think exactly what would be their weaknesses? Well for one, any organism can be affected by their food. So for my vampires dead man’s blood is a swift-acting poison that immobilize them for several hours. Why? Because there’s no life force left in the blood, and it’s the life force that is actually what nourishes them in their state between life and death. It’s also the reason why animal blood is more like a virgin cocktail, while human blood has the real kick to it—the type of life force is different.

But I wanted my vampires to be more than just super-strong beings that fed on blood, so I gave them some super-powers! My vampires can walk through walls, flux (turn invisible), transport to places they’ve been before. They can read each other’s thoughts, materialize objects and change to suit the most intimate fantasies of their prey—so whatever turns you on most—that’s what they become for you and you alone. Most importantly they form emotional bonds that last beyond a single life-time to be reborn again to find true love.

Their transition from human to vampire is caused by a virus, which in sufficient quantities and with a lowered immune system can transform a person into a vampire. So it’s not just about a bite, if the blood supply were tainted, it could happen to anyone. Sure they may not sparkle, but when you are trying something totally different, not every bit of vampire lore is going to apply.

*Do you have a favorite scene In The Truth about Vampires?

Wow. Good question! I think the scene where Dmitri and Vane fight was the most fun to write, but I really liked the chemistry of Dmitri and Kristin when she goes into the night club Sangria decked out in her vampire bait of a slouch-shoulder red sweater ready to take him on for undercutting her story in the newspaper.

*Which character was your favorite to write about? What about the hardest to write about?

I actually had fun with a lot of the characters in this book. I like them for different reasons. The favorite one to write was probably Kristin, because she's the one seeing this whole new world for the first time and really trying to balance out how to make it all work without freaking humanity out with the existence of vampires. She's hungry, but responsible as a journalist which is a tough combo. The hardest character to write was probably Bradley, Kristin's fellow reporter. I wanted to strike the right balance between spoiled rich kid and someone who just wants to be noticed without letting him take over too big a role.

*What are some of you Favorite books or Authors in the Paranormal Genres?

My current paranormal obsession is split between Gail Carriger's Souless steampunk series (who can resist vampires and werewolves running about London in bustles and top hats?) and Yasmin Galenorn's Otherworld series (her half fae-half human D'Artigo sisters totally kick ass.)

*You write books in different Genres, What is your favorite to write?

I don't have a favorite because I really enjoy all the different worlds I get to play in with the different series I write. For the Sons of Midnight I get to be in contemporary paranormal urban fantasy of what it would be like to live with vampires and the consequences of it all. For my steampunk The Legend Chronicles books I get to dabble in my deep abiding love for all things Victorian and be creative and fun with the inventions and supernatural creatures my characters get to deal with. And besides, who can resist three brothers all named after their father's favorite guns. It's just too much fun to play cowboys and like I'm part of a league of supernatural hunters at the same time. For my new dark fae Shadow Sisters series, I really get to get deep into worldbuilding creating the actual warring kingdoms of Shadowland and Wyldwood, so it's a great chance to imagine everything a little differently. And let me tell you dark fae, they aren't your mother's tinker bell types, they're more akin to demons and shapeshifters, I'm just sayin'.

*What Other Projects can we look forward to reading from you?

For the next two months I'm writing the third book in the Sons of Midnight mini-series, The HALF-BREED VAMPIRE. At least that's the working title for now. It’s looking at the dynamics of other supernaturals and how they work with vampire society, in this case werewolves and a vampire with a secret that’s going to blow his happy little world apart faster than the big bad wolf.

Book number two in the series, THE VAMPIRE WHO LOVED ME, will be out in June (it’s Achilles and Beck’s story, fyi, for those reading The Truth About Vampires. They were just such strong secondary characters I couldn’t let go.).

Then in May I’ll switch gears and starting writing my second steampunk romance, which involves airships, a sheriff from the wild weird west who’s from a family of hunters and a vampire countess from Europe. The first one, THE HUNTER, comes out this fall.

I'll also have a dark fae novella, SHADOWLANDER, the first glimpse of my new Shadow Sisters series coming out this fall.

* Where can readers read more about or get updates on you and your books?

The easiest place to find me is online at my website, www.theresameyers.com, but you can also catch up with me on Twitter at www.twitter.com/Theresa_Meyers or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/TheresaMeyersAuthor The books are available wherever Harlequin titles are sold, at all major book retailers, online and in stores. Take your pick! But since Nocturne books have a short shelf life (just one month!) if you want to order it after it disappears from the shelves, go to www.eharlequin.com and look under their Nocturne line for March, it'll be there!

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Author Bio:

Raised by a bibliophile who made the dining room into a library, Theresa has always been a lover of books and stories. First a writer for newspapers, then for national magazines, she started her first novel in high school, eventually enrolling in a Writer's Digest course and putting the book under the bed until she joined Romance Writers of America in 1993. In 2005 she was selected as one of eleven finalists for the American Title II contest, the American Idol of books. She is married to the first man she ever went on a real date with (to their high school prom), who she knew was hero material when he suffered through having to let her parents drive, and her brother sit between them in the backseat of the car. They currently live in a Victorian house on a mini farm in the Pacific Northwest with their two children, three cats, an old chestnut Arabian gelding, an energetic mini-Aussie shepherd puppy, several rabbits, a dozen chickens and an out-of-control herb garden. You can find her online on Twitter, Facebook, at her Web site or blogging with the other Lolitas of STEAMED!.

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The Truth About Vampires

Harlequin Nocturne - Vampire Romance

March 1, 2011

ISBN-10: 0373618549
ISBN-13: 978-0373618545

Pulling back the veil on a world shrouded in darkness, Theresa Meyers' stunning debut reveals a sinfully handsome vampire whose secret is about to exposed...

All her life Seattle reporter Kristin Reed sought her breakout story. She never thought she'd find it in the crimson lair of a real life creature of the night. Kristin never believed vampires existed—until with dark brooding eyes and a decadent chocolate scent, Dmitri Dionotte called out to her...

Dmitri and his clan's true nature was cloaked in secrecy until a warring vampire order threatened their existence. Kristin was just the woman he needed. She couldn't resist their story...or Dmitri. Her blood pulsed hot and furious when he touched her, and with his kiss, all logic fled. But each night she spent with her vampire lover brought her closer to death and destruction. A death not even an immortal could triumph over.